Oil filter/liquid indicator assembly

This Application is a continuation under 35 U.S.C. § 120 of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/607,905 filed on May 30, 2017. The US Application, including any appendices or attachments thereof, is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

1. Field of the Invention

This application relates to a technique for filtering oil in a bearing housing.

2. Brief Description of Related Art

In the prior art, pump assemblies are known that include a bearing housing having a bearing assembly with a shaft rotated by a motor for turning an impeller of a pump. It is known in the art that bearing housings can harbor contaminants that can cause premature bearing failure. The contaminants can be trapped in the bearing housing and circulate through the bearings. The contaminants may include dirt resulting from bearing wear over time, as well as water that may seep into the bearing the bearing housing from condensation, etc. There is no existing design to filter debris, remove moisture and indicate water contamination and/or dirty oil in the bearing housing.

In view of this, there is a need in the industry for a better way for filtering oil in a bearing housing.

In summary, and in contrast to the prior art techniques set forth above, the present invention provides a new and unique filter assembly for adapting in a bearing housing for removing debris and moisture from the bearing housing, as well as indicate when moisture is present for reducing or eliminating premature bearing failure. The new filter assembly allows for planned preventative maintenance versus unforeseen downtime in pumps that are critical to their application. The filter assembly is easily installed and replaced by hand without any tools.

Moreover, oil samples may be sent for assessment of waterbeads and crystals arranged in the filter cavity. Oil permissivity through the filter assembly may also be measured.

According to some embodiments, the present invention may take the form of apparatus featuring a bearing housing assembly, or a filter assembly and a bearing housing, as follows:

The Bearing Housing Assembly

By way of example, and according to some embodiments, the present invention may take the form of a bearing housing assembly featuring:

a bearing housing having

a bearing housing wall portion with a bearing assembly chamber configured or formed therein for receiving a combination of a bearing assembly and a shaft to be rotated, an oil sump configured or formed therein for receiving and containing oil for lubricating the bearing assembly when the shaft is rotated, an oil path channel configured or formed therein as an oil path for receiving dirty oil from the bearing assembly chamber for traveling down the oil path, and a filter assembly wall portion configured to form a filter assembly cavity that is coupled fluidically between the oil sump and the oil path channel; and

a filter assembly configured to mount in the filter assembly cavity, couple to the filter assembly wall portion, receive the dirty oil traveling down the oil path, filter the dirty oil and provide filtered oil to the oil sump, so the filtered oil can be recirculated to lubricate the bearing assembly when the shaft is rotated.

The bearing housing assembly according to the present invention may also include one or more of the following features:

The filter assembly may include a plug having a filter assembly mounting portion configured to couple to the filter assembly wall portion of the bearing housing.

The filter assembly mounting portion and the filter assembly wall portion may be coupled together using a threaded coupling arrangement, including where the filter assembly mounting portion has threads that couple into corresponding threads of the filter assembly wall portion of the bearing housing.

The plug may include a plug housing configured with a plug groove/hole to receive and guide the dirty oil into the filter assembly, including where the plug groove/hole is configured to pass completely through the plug housing.

The filter assembly may include a filter cartridge coupled to a bottom end of the plug housing and configured to filter the dirty oil and provide filtered oil to the oil sump, including where the filter cartridge includes a pleated filtering material arranged in a cartridge mounting assembly.

The filter assembly may include a filter indicator stem, a filter indicator configured on the filter indicator stem, and an internal retainer ring configured to flex inwardly and outwardly for retaining the filter indicator stem and the filter indicator within the plug housing. The filter indicator combination is configured to pass the dirty oil received in the plug groove/hole and provide the dirty oil to the filter cartridge.

The plug housing may include a lower plug housing inner wall having a lower annular channel configured or formed therein. The filter indicator may include a top portion and a bottom hollow portion, the top portion including, or being formed in part by, indicator paper for indicating the quality of the oil. The filter indicator stem may include a base portion and a stem portion, the base portion being configured with holes, openings, apertures or slots formed therein to pass the dirty oil to the filter assembly. The stem portion may be configured to receive the bottom hollow portion of the filter indicator; and the internal retainer ring may be configured to flex and fit into the lower annular channel and retain the filter indicator combination in the lower plug housing inner wall.

The filter cartridge may be, or take the form of, a replaceable filter cartridge, including where the cartridge mounting assembly has threads that couple to corresponding threads of the bottom end of the plug housing.

The filter cartridge may be configured or formed with a filter cavity; and the filter cartridge may include moisture absorbing beads or crystals that reside in the filter cavity, e.g., for absorbing water and moisture in the oil being filtered.

The filter assembly may include a glass window, an O-ring and a glass retainer configured to flex inwardly and outwardly. The plug housing may include an upper plug housing inner wall having an upper annular portion configured or formed therein to receive the O-ring and the glass retainer by flexing and fitting the glass retainer into the upper annular portion. The glass window may be arranged and sealed between the O-ring, the glass retainer and the upper annular portion.

The bearing housing assembly may include a plurality of filter assemblies, where each filter assembly is configured to mount in a respective filter assembly cavity configured or formed in the bearing housing, couple to a respective filter assembly wall portion formed in the bearing housing, receive respective dirty oil traveling down respective oil path channels formed in the bearing housing, filter the respective dirty oil and provide respective filtered oil to the oil sump, so that the filtered oil can be recirculated to lubricate the bearing assembly when the shaft is rotated.

The bearing housing wall portion may include an oil ring channel or groove configured or formed therein; and the bearing housing assembly may include an oil ring arranged in the oil ring channel or groove configured to fling, provide or guide oil into the oil path channel.

The filter assembly may include an upper O-ring and a lower O-ring for providing an upper and lower seal between the filter assembly and the bearing housing wall portion.

The Filter Assembly

By way of further example, and according to some further embodiments, the present invention may take the form of a filter assembly featuring

a plug having a plug housing with a filter assembly mounting portion configured to mount to a filter assembly wall portion of a bearing housing for arranging the filter assembly in a filter assembly cavity of the bearing housing, the plug housing configured with a plug/groove formed therein for receiving and guiding dirty oil provided from a bearing assembly chamber having a bearing assembly and a shaft to be rotated, to an oil path channel of the bearing housing for traveling down an oil path; a filter indicator combination arranged in the plug housing to receive the dirty oil from in the plug groove/hole and configured with holes formed therein to provide the dirty oil to a bottom end of the plug housing; and a filter coupled to the bottom end of the plug housing and configured to receive the dirty oil from the filter indicator combination, filter the dirty oil and provide filtered oil to an oil sump of the bearing housing, so the filtered oil can be recirculated to lubricate the bearing assembly when the shaft is rotated.

The filter assembly according to the present invention may also include one or more of the features set forth herein.

The Bearing Housing

By way of still further example, and according to some still further embodiments, the present invention may take the form of a bearing housing for a bearing housing assembly, featuring

a bearing housing wall portion configured to form a bearing assembly chamber for receiving a combination of a bearing assembly and a shaft to be rotated; an oil sump configured or formed within the bearing housing for receiving and containing oil for lubricating the bearing assembly when the shaft is rotated; an oil path channel configured or formed within the bearing housing as an oil path to receive dirty oil from the bearing assembly chamber for traveling down the oil path; and a filter assembly wall portion configured to form a filter assembly cavity that is coupled fluidically between the oil sump and the oil path channel and also configured to receive a filter assembly for filtering the dirty oil traveling along the oil path and providing filter oil to the oil sump, so the filtered oil can be recirculated to lubricate the bearing assembly when the shaft is rotated.

The bearing housing according to the present invention may also include one or more of the features set forth herein.

The present invention provides a better way for filtering oil in a bearing housing of a.

The drawing, not necessarily drawn to scale, includes the following Figures:

FIG. 1A is an illustration of a front view in cross-section (in a plane perpendicular to a longitudinal axis (front to back into the page)) of a shaft and bearing assembly combination) of a bearing housing assembly having one or more filter assemblies arranged in a bearing housing, according to some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 1B is an illustration of a back perspective view in cross-section (in a plane parallel to the longitudinal axis (front to back into the page)) of a shaft and bearing assembly combination) of part of a bearing housing assembly having one or more filter assemblies arranged in a bearing housing, according to some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2A is an illustration of a perspective view in cross-section (in a plane parallel to the longitudinal axis (top to bottom of the page)) of a filter assembly, according to some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2B is a photograph of a filter assembly and a plug P for using when the filter assembly is not being used, according to some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2C is an exploded view of a filter assembly, according to some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2D is a side view of a filter assembly as assembled (in a plane parallel to the longitudinal axis (top to bottom of the page)), according to some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2E is a cross-section view of the filter assembly in FIG. 2D along cross-section lines 2 D- 2 D, according to some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2F is an exploded view of part of the filter assembly in FIG. 2E labeled as 2 F, according to some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 3 includes FIGS. 3A and 3B , where FIG. 3A shows a side view of a plug that forms part of the filter assembly, and where FIG. 3B shows a cross-sectional view of the plug in FIG. 3A along cross-section lines 3 B- 3 B, according to some embodiments of the present invention.

Not every reference numeral is included in every Figure, e.g., so as to reduce clutter in the drawing as a whole.

FIGS. 1A and 1B show a bearing housing assembly generally indicated as 10 having a bearing housing 12 and a filter assembly 14 , according to some embodiments of the present invention. In FIG. 1A , reference arrow no. 1 indicates that sump oil flows through the filter assembly 14 ; reference arrow no. 2 indicates the sump oil enters the filter assembly 14 ; and reference arrow no. 3 indicates that filtered oil enters the oil sump from the filter assembly 14 .

The bearing housing 10 may include a bearing housing wall portion 10 a with a bearing assembly chamber 10 a ′ configured or formed therein for receiving a combination of a bearing assembly generally indicated by BA and a shaft S to be rotated. The combination of the bearing assembly BA and shaft S is generally known in the art, e.g., and may include ball bearings, rings, inner and outer ball bearing sleeves, as one skilled in the art would appreciate. The bearing housing wall portion 10 a with the bearing assembly chamber 10 a ′ may be configured or formed to receive and contain the combination of the bearing assembly BA and shaft S, e.g., consistent with that disclosed herein.

The bearing housing 10 may include an oil sump generally indicated as 10 b configured or formed therein for receiving and containing oil for lubricating the bearing assembly BA when the shaft S is rotated. By way of example, the oil sump 10 b may configured in the lower part of the bearing housing 12 , as shown in FIG. 1A .

The bearing housing 10 may include an oil path channel 10 c configured or formed therein as an oil path for receiving dirty oil from the bearing assembly chamber 10 a ′ for traveling down the oil path. (By way of example, the dirty oil may travel down the oil path via a gravity feed, or alternative by oil pressure caused by the combination of the bearing assembly BA and the rotating shaft S.)

The bearing housing 10 may include a filter assembly wall portion 10 d configured to form a filter assembly cavity generally indicated as 10 d ′ that is coupled fluidically between the oil sump 10 b and the oil path channel 10 c.

The filter assembly 14 may be configured to mount in the filter assembly cavity 10 d ′, e.g., as shown in FIG. 1A , couple to the filter assembly wall portion 10 d , receive the dirty oil traveling down the oil path, filter the dirty oil and provide filtered oil to the oil sump 10 b via an oil sump port/channel 10 b ′, so the filtered oil can be recirculated to lubricate the bearing assembly BA when the shaft S is rotated. By way of example, an oil pump (not shown) may be configured to pump oil from the oil sump 10 b to the bearing assembly chamber 10 a ′, e.g., via one or more oil recirculation channels, conduits or ports configured or formed in the bearing housing 12 .

As shown in FIGS. 2A thru 2 F, the filter assembly 14 may include a plug 14 a having a filter assembly mounting portion 14 a ′ configured to couple to the filter assembly wall portion 12 a of the bearing housing 12 . In particular, see FIG. 2B . By way of example, the filter assembly mounting portion 14 a ′ and the filter assembly wall portion 12 a may be coupled together using a threaded coupling arrangement, including where the filter assembly mounting portion 14 a ′ has threads 14 a ″ that couple into corresponding threads 12 a ″ ( FIG. 1A ) of the filter assembly wall portion 12 a of the bearing housing 12 .

As shown in FIG. 2A thru 2 C, the plug 14 a may include a plug housing 14 c configured with a plug groove/hole 14 d to receive and guide the dirty oil into the filter assembly 14 , including where the plug groove/hole 14 d is configured to pass completely through the plug housing 14 c , as shown. See also FIG. 1A .

As shown in FIG. 2A thru 2 C, the filter assembly 14 may include a filter or filter cartridge 14 e coupled to a bottom end 14 c 1 of the plug housing 14 c and configured to filter the dirty oil and provide filtered oil to the oil sump 10 b , including where the filter cartridge 14 e includes a pleated filtering material 14 e ′ arranged in a cartridge mounting assembly 14 e″.

The filter assembly 14 may include a filter indicator combination having a filter indicator stem 14 f , a filter indicator 14 g configured on the filter indicator stem 14 f , and an internal retainer ring 14 h configured to flex inwardly and outwardly for retaining the filter indicator stem 14 f and the filter indicator 14 g within the plug housing 14 c , as described below. The filter indicator combination may be configured to pass the dirty oil received in the plug groove/hole 14 d and provide the dirty oil to the filter or filter cartridge 14 e.

As best shown in FIG. 2F , the plug housing 14 c may include a lower plug housing inner wall 14 c 2 having a lower annular channel 14 c 2 ′ configured or formed therein. The filter indicator 14 g may include a top portion 14 g ′ and a bottom hollow portion 14 g ″, the top portion 14 g ′ including, or being formed in part by, indicator paper or indicating the quality of the oil. The filter indicator stem 14 f may include a base portion 14 f 1 and a stem portion 14 f 2 , the base portion 14 f 1 may be configured with holes, openings, apertures or slots 14 f 1 ′ formed therein to pass the dirty oil to the filter cartridge 14 e , the stem portion 14 f 2 may be configured to receive the bottom hollow portion 14 g ″ of the filter indicator 14 g . The internal retainer ring 14 h may be configured to flex and fit into the lower annular channel 14 c 2 ′ and retain the filter indicator combination in the lower plug housing inner wall 14 c 2 .

The filter cartridge may be, or take the form of, a replaceable filter cartridge, including where the cartridge mounting assembly 14 e ″ has threads that couple to corresponding threads of the bottom end 14 c 1 of the plug housing 14 c.

The filter cartridge 14 e may be configured or formed with a filter cavity 14 e ′″; and the filter cartridge 14 e may include moisture absorbing beads or crystals B that reside in the filter cavity 14 e′″.

The filter assembly 14 may include a glass window 14 i , an O-ring 14 j and a glass retainer 14 k configured to flex inwardly and outwardly. The plug housing 14 c may include an upper plug housing inner wall 14 c 4 having an annular portion 14 c 4 ′ and ledge 14 c 4 ″ configured or formed therein to receive the O-ring 14 j and the glass retainer 14 k by flexing and fitting the glass retainer 14 k . The glass window 14 i may be arranged and sealed between the O-ring 14 j , the glass retainer 14 k and the upper annular portion 14 c 4 ′.

As shown in FIG. 1A , the bearing housing wall portion 12 a may include an oil ring channel or groove 12 a ′″ configured or formed therein. The bearing housing assembly 10 may include an oil ring R arranged in the oil ring channel or groove 12 a ′″ configured to fling, provide or guide oil into the oil path channel 12 c.

The filter assembly 14 may include an upper O-ring O 1 and a lower O-ring O 2 for providing an upper and lower seal between the filter assembly 14 and the bearing housing wall portion 10 a , as shown in FIGS. 1A and 2A thru 2 E. By way of example, the lower O-ring O 2 may be configured in an O-ring channel 14 c 5 formed in the plug housing 14 c , as shown in FIG. 3B .

The Scope of the Invention

It should be understood that, unless stated otherwise herein, any of the features, characteristics, alternatives or modifications described regarding a particular embodiment herein may also be applied, used, or incorporated with any other embodiment described herein. Also, the drawing herein is not drawn to scale.

Although the invention has been described and illustrated with respect to exemplary embodiments thereof, the foregoing and various other additions and omissions may be made therein and thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.